Never a stranger in Paris

«…10:00 am Near the Church of Saint Suplice Carole shows me the building where Catherine Deneuve lives. Over the following days I’ll walk by several times in the hope of seeing her, but she never shows up.

I have an appointment at the historic Select, on boulevard du Montparnasse. I ask some young French people for directions, and realise they have no idea about the Select or La Coupole. I wonder if they’ve heard of Hemingway. When I get there I stare like hypnotised at the display of sweets. In the end I order just coffee. What on earth do French women eat and remain so slim? A mystery!

7:00 pm Appointment with Pierre Gagnaire at his eponymous restaurant on the rue Victor Hugo. After our conversation we walk into the kitchen for Quiterie to take pictures, and I see the well-known actor Dany Boon sitting on a couch and waiting patiently. On my way out I make stories in my mind about what he might have wanted of Gagnaire. A private dinner? A birthday party? To book the entire store for one evening just for two? I’ll never know…».

Lina Stefanou is a real flâneur, in the Baudelairean sense. She wanders around every city NOMAS visits in order to comprehend it. Her diary is the result of her wanderings.